Lots of information

[congrats to jake]
It’s so fun to see a childhood friend playing pro baseball. I’m so proud of my buddy Jake and it’s not just because of his baseball career. Two things I want to congratulate Jake about:
1. He and his wife, M, are expecting a baby in October. So, congrats on the upcoming birth of your first child. I can’t wait to know if it’s a boy or girl so I can buy a little something for him/her.
2. Jake also seems to be doing well in the world of MLB. He got his first save on Saturday against his old team, the Angels. According to the article I read, Jake took the mound in the 5th inning to restore some order to the game. (click here to read the full article). Way to go buddy!

We’re headed to MN for Memorial Day weekend. While there we plan to catch all 3 Mariner v. Twins games. I’m excited to see Jake again. I’m also hopeful that M can join him on the trip so that we can get to know her better. Much has changed since I saw him last… no wait, I saw him in January when Scott was 6 months old. Prior to that, I saw him Memorial Day 2005 when I was massively pregnant.

[small fry]
Things are rapidly changing for this little guy. In the past week, he:
- Has another tooth that pushed through the skin (pic #3)
- Raises his hands in the air after you ask him how big he is and follow up with “SO BIG” (pic #1)
- also has two front teeth that look like they’re going to push through any day now
- continues to eat like a horse. Mom fed him at 4:30 yesterday and when I got there at 5:45, he took another full feeding.
- ate wild rice soup Sunday night. This was an hour after he had a bottle and was acting like he was starving so I ground up some of my soup and fed it to him. I couldn’t shovel fast enough and he LOVED it.

[stress and allergies]
Allergy season is in full swing here. This tends to be a miserable time for me when I get all the symptoms. I’m also feeling a bit stressed out at home. I feel like I never have time for my husband, my child or my maid duties. Yesterday I got an email from a friend that was a bit of a reality check for me. She informed me that my attitude sucks and that I’ve been really negative. I’m definitely feeling the stress and could name a million excuses but the reality of it is that I haven’t had my quiet time and that GREATLY affects my attitude. So, I know how to fix, or at least, improve my attitude. I was so glad to have the reality check. Baker used to be that person for me at home and I’ve really missed that. So, it was really good to have someone else be realistic with me. Thanks!

[Theology of the Gospel]
We just started a “class” at church called Theology of the Gospel. I’m super excited about that. I know that I have been out of practice on sharing and learning and memorizing and all those things which means I fell inadequate when I do need to share. I’ve been working with a guy on a streambank project. He found out in April that he has 30 days to live. Today is day 42 for him. I have really felt the urgency of sharing with him. If you had 30 days to live, what would you be thinking? So, you die, what’s next? Because we have sinned, we fall short and don’t deserve to go to heaven. But, the cool thing is that Christ died on a cross for my sins and for yours. He then rose again. And because he intervened to pay the price for our sins, if we call on His name, we can be saved and receive the “get out of jail hell free card”. So, I’m praying that God sustains Rick mentally, physically and emotionally so that I can tell him the Good News! This theology of the Gospel class is supposed to help better prepare me for that.